A pic that has seared the winter chill in Lucknow

A photograph has seared the winter chill and spun the political scenario in Uttar Pradesh almost out of control.

The photograph in question is that of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, which has created a major controversy.

Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mohan Bhagwat met on Monday at the wedding reception of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's granddaughter in Delhi.

Mulayam Singh and the RSS chief were seen sitting together in a photo tweeted by Union Minister Arjun Meghwal.

Hours later, the Congress shot off a tweet taking aim at the Samajwadi Party.

"Is the S in the 'new SP' meant to be Sanghawad?" the Uttar Pradesh Congress said in its post in Hindi.

The BJP gleefully replied, "Photograph says a lot."

The Samajwadi Party, meanwhile, has maintained a studied silence on the issue while rival parties are said to be preparing to carry forward the controversy by dishing out earlier photographs of Mulayam Singh with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders.